Scoliosis

Different Opinions

At this point, I was 15. My X-rays showed that I had very little spinal growth left, if any. I was pretty much done growing. This meant a brace wouldn't help me anymore, and the only other treatment is surgery.

My mother was very keen on avoiding surgery at all costs. (She had just had her Gallbladder removed, and was still in some pain. This convinced her that all other surgery was bad, and I should never go through it. Well like it or not, mother, I haven't got much of a choice.)

She did everything she could to steer the doctors away from the idea of my surgery. She suggested getting me another brace (Even after two doctors told her it was completely pointless, because my back was too bad for bracing. Not to mention, I was too old.) She suggested praying for a miracle. She suggested talking to different doctors to see what they thought. But in reality, she was talking to them to convince them I didn't need surgery.

Of course I did. We all humored her for a while, but there wasn't much point. We saw another doctor, who told us the exact same thing: I was beyond bracing, and he would recommend surgery. The longer we let it be, the worse my back will get, and the harder it will be to fix. Plus, it's much easier to recover when you're young, as opposed to being 40 years old and getting the surgery.

There were a lot of different opinions to consider.

My mother: she thought surgery was the worst option and wanted to avoid it at all costs. Part of her argument was that "Her back looks fine, she doesn't need surgery." First of all- no it doesn't. My back looks pretty messed up. Secondly, it doesn't matter what my back looks like. It could look perfect and I would still need the operation. The problem was on the inside, whether or not it was visible to her on the outside.

My father: He was convinced that being logical about it, doing our research first, and planning was the way to go. He wanted to pray, like my mother (they're both very religious people), and he wanted to talk to different doctors and see what they thought. In many ways I agree with my father, although I had already done my research. I had already read every article out there and I knew all the pros and cons of surgery. I guess he just wanted to find out for himself, rather than trust the word of a 15 year old girl.

The doctors: Everyone we went to agreed that bracing wouldn't help, and that surgery was the way to go. They agreed that we could wait a few months though; we didn't have to get it done right away.

And my opinion: Honestly, I don't know what my opinion is. Of course I don't want the surgery, but if I need it I'm going to get it done. I'm not going to sit around and wait until it gets too bad to fix. My only concern is that I'll lose a lot of my flexibility afterward, and that I won't be able to do the things I love, like dancing in school musicals or swimming in my pool. They say you can do all these things eventually, but I would rather not have to wait 6 months to be able to move freely again. If I got the surgery, I would always have to be careful. I would have the risk of reinjuring my back, and having to get the surgery all over again.

But we took everyone's opinions into consideration, and eventually had to make a decision.

Do I get the surgery or not?